There is something really important going on today that I’m really excited to tell you about. Today is the launch of Catapult, a Kickstarter-type website that is all about projects for women and girls. Beginning today at 1:11 p.m. (EST), I’ll be hosting the LGBTQ-themed hour to raise money and awareness for this amazing project developed by Equal Ground.

In Sri Lanka, lesbian and bisexual women are criminalized under Penal Code 365 A. The law, along with social, cultural and religious stigma drives these women underground and affects their quality of life immensely. Violence in all forms is perpetrated against lesbian and bisexual women across the board, by family members and society at large. This behavior is further validated by the behavior of authorities towards these women who are often blackmailed, ridiculed and in some instances raped. Shame and internalized homophobia still remains causing lesbian and bisexual women and girls to go deeper and deeper underground.

So today we’ll be raising the $13,000 it will cost to create vocational opportunities for these women. These centers will teach lesbian and bisexual women how to speak and write English, basic computer skills, financial management, personal hygiene and social etiquettes — all things they can use to better their lives. Please visit Catapult.org and give if you can to this much-needed project.

I didn’t want to be gay. Back then I thought there was something wrong with gay people. All the gay people I knew were all damaged. There was a whole stereotype around what a lesbian should be and look like. I thought “I don’t fit into that so I can’t be one.” One night when I was 17 it all got too much, me and my mom got into a big row. I swore at her for the first time in my life and she just said, “Say it, say you’re gay!” And then I said it. The relief was immediate.